England rookie spinner Shoaib Bashir has reached India and was spotted in the dugout during the ongoing 1st Test against India at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad. In a picture, which has gone viral over social media, Bashir was spotted sitting with the remaining players while wearing glasses.
Bashir struggled to get the visa for India ahead of the five-Test series due to his Pakistani heritage. The 20-year-old off-spinner was initially stranded at Abu Dhabi before returning to the United Kingdom to sort out his visa struggles. A day before the start of the series, it emerged that Bashir has received his visa and will link up with the England squad over the weekend.
Before the opening Test, England captain Ben Stokes expressed his frustration at the episode during a press conference and said, as quoted by Sky Sports:
"I didn't want this type of situation to be his [Shoaib Bashir] first experience of what it's like to be in the England Test team. Especially for a young lad, I'm devastated for him. As captain I find it particularly frustrating. We announced the squad in mid-December and now Bash finds himself without a visa to get here."
England spark remarkable turnaround to win opening Test:
Meanwhile, the Englishmen came out on top in the 1st Test in Hyderabad despite facing a 190-run deficit after day 2. They eventually turned it into a 230-run lead as Ollie Pope sizzled with a knock of 196.
Left-arm spinner Tom Hartley later ran through India's batting line-up, picking up 7 wickets to fashion a 28-run victory.
